Tag Archives: 31 days of juicing

Post navigation

I’m not sure what the heck you are thinking if you live in the south and don’t have a papaya tree or two, or three, in your backyard. Go outside and plant one now. Next year at this time you will have big, beautiful, juicy papayas and you will love me thank me. They are seriously that delicious.

Of course I didn’t eat one today, I juiced it. I’m still in Florida visiting Gigi – my business partner/friend. The other day her neighbor, Dr. Nune, brought us two of her papayas and we juiced them this morning. BEST. JUICE. EVER. Seriously. The glass above is a whole papaya, 5 strawberries, a kiwi and a pear. Need I say more? Yum. Saturday or Sunday she is bringing us her homemade yogurt and I can’t wait for a spoonful!

I’m planning on ending the 30 day Juice-Only-Fast after Friday, so I’ll keep blogging about it for another day or two. I am going to deserve a medal or something by then because we’re heading to Epcot in Orlando for the Food and Wine Festival. So excited about that, but even more excited because I finally get to meet Gigi’s BFF’s Chef Art Smith and his spouse Jesus (Hay-soos) – an amazing artist.

I mentioned Oil Swooshing yesterday. It’s really called Oil Pulling and it is some amazing stuff. This week I’ve been a human guinea pig so I can report back to you the results. I’ll probably do that on Sunday since the next few days are really busy.

Time for a new recipe! I had been hearing that a juice recipe for peach pie is really, really good and a poster named Sungyrll over at the Join the Reboot forums was kind enough to share the recipe. If you click on her name you can see her video about it. I decided it was my responsibility to try it out for you! Have you ever tried to get peaches in Cincinnati during the fall? Not easy, but finally I found some at Krogers.

Here’s the recipe…

3 Large Sweet Potatoes (peeled)

4 Ripe Peaches (pitted)

2 Golden Delicious Apples (cored)

A dash of Cinnamon

Verdict? Delicious! I liked it more than the Pumpkin Pie Juice! The bonus is it made about 36oz. so I filled a mason jar to the brim, saved it in the fridge for tonight and drank the rest! Yum.

Even better news is I lost another pound!!!! Yay! That’s 14 pounds in 18 days! I know this sounds crazy, but I feel like it should be more. Today I walked 3 miles and am drinking lots of water – I’m going to be diligent about those two things this week. I’ll be curious to see if that helps over the never few days. Okay, it’s project day and I’m off to start a new Chalk Paint piece! Amy xo

Taste buds are a funny thing. They can betray you at any time. Personally, I think they have an addiction problem: they eat too much of something and they’re hooked. For years mine were addicted to sugar. Cookies, cupcakes, donuts, candy bars, chocolate… they all called my name. Fruits and vegetables, not so much.

If you told me a year ago that I would one day actually choose a vegetable juice over a candy bar, I would laugh out loud. And then probably told you that you were nuts. It wasn’t possible. Or was it?

When I started juicing, I was surprised that many people, instead of wrinkling their noses wanted to learn more. Their biggest concern is the taste. “Isn’t it awful?”, they ask? I’ve had several people over to my house for taste tests. A few have been less than thrilled with the green juice, but like the carrot, apple ginger juice. Most are pleasantly surprised and say “it’s not bad”.

I wasn’t crazy about some of the recipes in the beginning either, but grew to love them and eventually fell in love with others. Some I like better than others, but I know that there are so many health benefits to eating a variety that I am trying recipes until I find a good mix for me.

In the beginning I started juicing primarily for health reasons. Today, I juice for several reasons…

I think it’s incredibly healthy and healing.

It makes me feel better than I have years. Lots of years.

It gives me control. I can eat those sweet things that I enjoy here and there, but it’s a tool that helps me keep it in check. I don’t have to freak out any more if I gain a few lbs. down the road because I know that in a few days I will get back to where I need to be.

I think it’s the best preventive “medicine” you can take.

I like the way I look when I juice and eat healthy. My face isn’t puffy and my skin is soft and clear.

I LIKE THE TASTE OF IT. Who knew?

Turns out my taste buds have a new addiction: fruit and vegetables. Watch out, if you give it a try, you might just have some little addicts on your hands too. This is one addiction though that doesn’t need an intervention! I can honestly say I now crave juice and not sweets. That’s not to say I don’t want sweets, but when I do allow myself to have some, I find they are really not that satisfying any more.

Remember when I said beets tasted like dirt? And then when I said I take it back? Well, I’ve been experimenting with recipes and below is the one with beets that I tried at LaGuardia airport and found I really do like them. Above is a photo of all the ingredients, minus the carrots. I forgot to take a photo of those. I used two gigantic ones…

Here’s the recipe if you want to try it…

LGA Juice Recipe (picture of ingredients in two above photos)

2 XL carrots or 4 or 5 regular

3 generous handfuls of spinach

1/2 of a bunch of parsley stems and all

1/2 of cucumber peeled

1/2 of large beet. Ends cut-off and peeled

1 medium sized lemon or two small

Let me know if you like it!

I lost another pound this morning! That’s 11 pounds in 13 Days of the juice fast. xo Amy

I will admit that was a lame post yesterday, but I was busy having fun and for that I am thankful! I had such a great time teaching a Decorating Fabulously! Workshop all day yesterday. Afterwards, I ran home, made three jars of juice and was off to a haunted bed and breakfast in New Vienna, Ohio with a group of friends. I posted yesterday from the car so I wouldn’t miss a day of posting, but I’m just going to tell you, if I had to blog was via my iPhone everyday, there would probably never be another post again!

I initially chose the Month of October to fast because I thought it would be would be perfect – I really didn’t have any plans to go anywhere. Our vacation was over, Thanksgiving is next month and the only challenge October presented was Halloween and I really didn’t need to break into the candy I was going to buy for the trick-or-treaters, anyway. I know I’m not the only one who does this, true?

It was a good rationalization, but so far I’ve flown to NYC for a spur of the moment trip to see my son & his girlfriend, had “coffee” – aka water, with an old friend who was in town and went on an overnight dinner and ghost adventure with friends. Despite the unexpected excitement, I’ve stuck to the plan and had a great time even though I’m juicing!

To ensure those trips were successful I made sure to either have a full supply of juice in a cooler, know where a local juice bar is or stop when I get to my destination to purchase pre-made juice for the refrigerator. It really hasn’t been that hard at all, in fact I think going out and having fun is helpful to keeping me on track. When I’m around other people I may want what their having for a minute or two or three – especially if it’s a fresh cup of pumpkin latte or a slice of pumpkin spice cheesecake, but I get over it pretty quickly.

The moral of this story is you can juice anytime of the year and have fun!

Back to Ghost Hunting. This is Snow Hill Country Club…

It was so much fun and although I didn’t see any paranormal activity up close and personal, my friend’s two sisters who were in a room down the hall, woke us up at 3:30am screaming hysterically and banging on our door to let them in because two lights appeared out of the complete darkness and totally freaked them out. Needless to say, one refused to sleep for the rest of the night and the other slept on our floor. Me? I rolled over and covered my head with a blanket so I couldn’t see if any lights appeared. I was tired. I’ll post more about that closer to Halloween!

I didn’t get to weigh myself today, but I’m hoping tomorrow – Day 12 of juice only, is a good one! Amy xo

That’s a fennel. Did you know that? I had no idea fennels even existed until I saw a juicing recipe over at Join the Reboot for a fennel-pear drink. I put it on my shopping list a few months ago and had to google what it looked like to find it at the store. I tried it once and really liked it, but for some reason I didn’t make it again.

I made it one of my step-out-of-my-comfort-zone-juices because I thought you might like to try it. The recipe is simple. Two pear + two medium fennel. What does it taste like? Licorice. If you don’t like licorice, don’t bother trying it. Have you ever had those pink and white candies in a box called Good and Plenty? That’s the first thing that came to my mind when I took my first sip. It tastes like a box of Good and Plenty. It’s also really refreshing. Try it!

Today I felt really, really good. Very clear, lots of energy. Last night I turned on the radio and cleaned for two hours. Didn’t even have a desire to sit down and watch the TV, although when I did they were discussing the Presidential Debate, so no loss there! I got on the scale this morning and lost another pound! Yay! 8 pounds in 9 days – not too shabby! Have a great weekend! xo Amy

I made a bold declaration in the beginning of this series that I didn’t like beets. I think I specifically said “They taste like dirt”. Today I officially admit I was wrong. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t judge a vegetable by just one recipe. That is a huge mistake.

I had sworn off beets totally, but often there is this little voice inside of me that suggests each little wonderful vegetable has some unique micro-nutrient to offer my body and that I really should start stepping out of my comfort zone of mostly green juice and carrot-apple-ginger.

On Monday I was at LaGuardia Airport wondering what on earth I was going to drink and asked someone if there was a juice bar around. Unbelievably, there was one less than 30 feet from where I was standing. The first thing I saw was their Standard Juice which was carrot, apple, parsley, beet, ginger and lemon. I wanted to stick with my normal, but my little voice insisted I try it. Sometimes that little voice can be so smart, because it was delicious. Really, really good.

That got me thinking that I need to start exploring a wee bit more. My new self-imposed rule is every time I go to the market, I get ingredients for one or two new recipes to add to my normal. This afternoon I got the ingredients to attempt to re-create the beet concoction that I loved and also a fennel-pear juice. I’ll let you know tomorrow about one of them!

Today I felt really good again. I didn’t lose any weight today, but that’s the first time in 8 days, so that’s okay! My only complaint is that I have drippage down my throat and my chest is tight, but I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with juicing and everything to do with this can’t-make-up-it’s-mind-weather. It goes from 40 to 70 degrees in a 24 hour period and allergies are going full steam ahead. Amy xo

I don’t love to walk and I don’t love to workout. I really don’t. Even when I do it, I still don’t love it unless I am walking with a friend which makes it bearable. Of course if it’s with my friend/business partner GiGi in Florida, I still don’t love it because she makes me do 4 miles, it’s hot and there are mosquitoes. The only reason why I walk the 4 miles with her is we sometimes get Cafe Con Leche (unbelievably good Cuban Coffee) at the end of Mile 3 and we always have good talks. Plus, she would probably be relentless until I went.

I love how walking makes me feel when I’m done. Walking loves me, I am trying to love it back. Yes, I have tried every excuse… My knee hurts, my back hurts, my ankle hurts, blah, blah, blah. Rather than preach, I figured I’d do some lists again…

I know your excuses:

I’m too heavy

I’m out of shape

My ____________ hurts

I don’t have time

It’s too cold

It’s too hot

There’s no where safe to walk

What ever reason you can think of

And to your excuses I say this:

If you are heavy start with baby steps. It will get easier and you will thank me.

You are out of shape because you don’t walk. Start walking.

Yes it hurts. Mine did too, but it doesn’t anymore unless I over do it. Know your boundaries, but make sure to push yourself a bit each day. Usually “it” is hurting because of a) your weight and b) because you don’t walk. Did you know walking is really good for a bad back?

Make time. It’s like juicing… have a plan and stick to it.

If it’s too hot, too cold, rainy or not safe to walk, then put in a walking tape at home.

Really, just do it. You are worth the time and effort – the truth is, your health depends on it.

A few tips:

Find a buddy to walk with. My stay at home neighbor walks her working neighbors dog every afternoon. What a win-win situation that is! My friend Lori walks with her 11-year-old son. How awesome will those memories be down the road?

Get a good walking tape to do at home or with co-workers at lunch. I walk with my dog, my husband or a friend here and there, but I LOVE my walking tape. It’s convenient, I can turn a fan on me so I don’t get too hot and it’s fast. I absolutely love Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds tapes – especially this one, because each mile is only 12 minutes long, there’s a two-minute boost at the end of each mile and it’s convenient. I also like that you can pick how many miles you want to do. I usually do 3, but if I’m in a hurry I do two. Sometimes the talking gets on my nerves and I mute it to listen to my iPod. Certainly, you can fit in 30 minutes to do this. Note: If you are just starting, pick one of her beginner tapes so it’s not such a fast pace.

Make sure to hydrate before and after.

Wear a good pair of walking shoes. They make a HUGE difference. Huge. Feet that hurt will stop hurting with a good pair of shoes. I recently bought this pair of Ryka’s. with the blue accents. They only make shoes for women. I like them because they are light and really, really comfortable. I read the reviews (5 starts) and went a 1/2 size up – glad I did! Find a shoe that is good for your foot!

Pencil it in or you’ll end up not doing it!

Okay! I’m off my soap box… guess I better get walking tonight! I almost forgot… I lost another pound today… that’s 7 pounds in 7 days of the juice fast! I’ve got a bit of indigestion, but otherwise feel awesome! Yay!